Winners receive a $1,000 award to help make a lasting, positive change in the world.
The following are the 10 winners from the Chicago area:
Destinee Evans, Age 14, South Holland, IL
"I am solving the problem of students being affected by budget cuts in the ART department at one of the local school in South Holland by offering students an opportunity to develop their ART skills in spite of the school not being able to afford ART teachers or ART classes."
Alicia Hook, Age 16, Lake Villa, IL
"I made over 400 headbands this summer to sell to fundraise for the Ritter Foundation for aortic research. My goal was to raise $500 for the foundation. So far I have raised $1030 toward the $10,000 total goal and am still making and filling orders for headbands."
Bradley Wilinski, Age 13, Gurnee, IL
"I am the Tourette Syndrome Association Youth Ambassador for Illinois. Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes people to make sounds or movements they can't control. I was trained, along with youth ambassadors from across the US, in Washington DC this spring to speak to others to educate them about Tourette Syndrome."
Daniella Cohen, Age 15, Highland Park, IL
"My mission is to promote cultural understanding and increase international friendship and education. Friendship brings pen pals closer and brings communities closer too. G.I.V.E (Go Innovate Volunteer Educate) has two main goals: to promote international friendship and enhance education."
Emily Slaw, Age 18, Chicago, IL
"Everybody Dance Now! Chicago (EDN!C) is an entirely youth led non profit organization dedicated to providing free weekly dance classes to underserved youth across the city. Partnering our dance classes with nutrition education, service learning, and cultural programming, we attempt to combat the lack of resources many of the city's youth face in the public school system."
Kaylin Fanta, Age 18, St. John, IN
"While volunteering at a local food pantry, I saw children who were waiting in line for food. I figured if they could not afford food, they surely could not afford clothing shoes and school supplies. I started Watt's Backpack Baggers 11 years ago, when I was just 7. It was a way for the children at the food pantry to get what they needed to start school."
Mishika Narula, Age 17, Highland Park, IL
"Power of Pops demonstrates the power of giving, the power of thought, and the power of empathy. This venture grants consumers with the gift of a smile. A smile brought by the mere joy of knowing that their purchase goes towards supporting individuals with special needs. Starting out as a project I created during ninth grade, Power of Pops has now been transformed into an enterprise that targets consumers throughout Chicago."
Sarah Dynia, Age 16, Oak Lawn, IL
"I am working on the community issue of meeting the psychological needs of people. Many organizations meet the basic needs of people (food, water, shelter, healthcare, security) but do not focus much on the need for the knowledge that the person is loved and cared for. I created Stuffed Love to address these needs via hand-stitched stuffed pillows in various shapes."
William Bauman, Age 14, Grayslake, IL
"Distracted driving is a major problem in the United States. In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver. Nearly one of every four crashes occurs because of drivers using their cell phone. Texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to be in a car accident. I picked Texting and Distracted Driving as my Eagle Scout Service project."
AJ Vetter, Age 16, Schaumburg, IL
"It was his father's (Dr. Beyne Tibebu Tefera) wishes to establish a scholarship fund in the name of Mikias Tibebu, a fellow student killed in a hit-and-run accident, to benefit other SHS students and assist them in achieving their goals. We sold memorial T Shirts and wristbands and made over $3,000."
